Home (Is Where You Are)
by Fher34
Summary: He lost his home at a young age. It took years, sacrifices, and an endless wandering, but Uchiha Sasuke thinks he might have found it again. SasuHina. Post-War. 4.14.19. One-Shot.


**A/N**: I've been meaning to post this here (it was published in Tumblr a while ago) but never had the chance. The beautiful and kind Cat, as well as other awesome reviewers, snapped me out fo my organic chemistry daze and gave me an excuse to post this.

"I'm not history just yet. I'm here. I'm not dead! I plan on returning this May 9th with a couple of new chapters." That's my message to you, faithful readers.

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**Home (Is Where You Are)**

**Part I**

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The first time he lost his home, he was seven.

The streets were stained with blood, the corpses of the people he'd known paving the way to the house of his childhood. The lights inside were off, the residence deadly silent.

Sasuke remembered the fear, the unknown trepidation, and the undeniable sense of something being very, very wrong.

That was a night that would haunt his dreams forever.

The second time he lost a home, it was done by his own choice, severed by his own hand. Cutting ties with Konoha had been necessary. Power didn't come cheap, and the price was to turn his back on the village of his ancestors, on his teammates, and on his pride.

Revenge, after all, had no place in a home. Thus, the home was dismissed, tossed away, and left behind in order for him to walk his own path.

A path that eventually led to Uchiha Itachi's death.

Sasuke thought that after killing his brother, he'd be able to restore his clan, to perhaps bring it back to the glory it possessed before its extermination.

Except he was wrong.

Itachi's death had unraveled the truth behind the Massacre, behind Sasuke's biggest pain and loss.

Sasuke was unwilling to forgive Konoha for its transgressions, and so once again, he wandered, setting his sight on revenge, blood, and broken bonds.

It would be a long time before he thought about the word 'home' again.

**||.||**

When he returned to Konoha after the War, he no longer saw it as a home or a place to belong; it was only the village his dear brother had wished to protect. And so Sasuke decided to carry the legacy of his brother and became a Shadow -lurking and silent- to guard what his brother and clan had died for.

But.

He would do it from the outside and on his terms. He would not dwell within the Leaf's walls. He couldn't, lest his conviction failed him and his desire for retribution arose.

Among his teammates' protests, he departed, never to return to the abandoned Uchiha District. That land would remain bare for many years to come.

**||.||**

When he officially met her, he did not fall in love.

At least, not right away.

Her words were the first to reach him, lightly probing his mind, and capturing his attention with the simplest of questions.

"…Would you like some dinner?" she asked, the orange flames dancing in the pale of her eyes as the early evening darkened the woods he had encountered her in.

Sasuke stared, his bag heavy on his shoulders, his feet sore from walking nonstop the past month. As a natural traitor, his stomach was the first one to express its hunger.

Nonetheless, an expectant gaze observed him for a voluntary response.

Slowly, he nodded, wondering why she looked familiar and inwardly thankful for keeping a straight face as his stomach growled a second time.

"I'm Hinata, from Konoha," she voiced after a moment, as if sensing his confusion.

Sasuke paused, before taking a place by the fire, his eyes narrowed as he faced her entirely for the first time. Her white, pupilless orbs instantly captured his attention.

"…You're a Hyuuga. "

The hand scooping a serving of mushroom soup froze, only to quickly resume the pouring of a bowl. Quietly, she extended it to him.

Sasuke took it.

Hinata didn't speak until she had a serving of her own. Her reluctance to answer was obvious, yet she was polite to a fault and wouldn't ignore him.

"I used to be," she finally said, scrutinizing her soup as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Hn." Sasuke decided not to pry and simply give thanks for the hot meal. It'd been a while since his last.

"I hope it's to your liking," she smoothly changed the subject, smiling slightly in his direction. "It's been some time…since I've had a guest."

Sasuke wasn't one for small talk, but between an awkward silence or the forbidden topic of her surname, he opted to nonchalantly follow along. "Are you on a trip?"

Hinata blew on a spoonful of soup and took a tentative sip before replying. "Not exactly."

A dark brow arched, and he eyed the tent and all of her camping equipment behind her. "Mission?"

"Not…really. I just thought it'd be nice to be on my own. Away from everyone."

Sasuke blinked, considering her words for a second. "…I can leave, if you'd like," he offered dryly, hoping she would at least let him take the soup if she took him up on it.

Hinata scalded her tongue, caught off guard. "O-oh! N-no! I didn't mean you, Sasuke-san! I just, you know, meant away from the village. For a little while. Just to, just to think," she stammered, her cheeks red with embarrassment. "I didn't mean to imply your company was unwanted."

Oh.

Well.

In that case, he would continue to eat.

The warmth of the fire and the taste of the broth filled him with a heat and comfort that would be hard to find in the upcoming winter. Already, the crisp November air had colored the leaves with shades of orange, red, and brown. It wouldn't be long before the first snow of the season descended.

"Thank you for the food," he said once he was done. Standing, he nodded in farewell. It was time to resume his journey.

Hinata looked up from her third serving. The girl, contrary to her petite body, had a profound appetite. "Would you like seconds?"

Sasuke hesitated, glancing at the pot that was still half-way full. His mind said no, his demanding stomach said yes.

Light lily eyes, round and glinting in the dark, encouraged him to sit for a bit longer.

"…If you insist."

How could anyone say no when living off tomatoes and cold rice balls all this time?

Certainly not him.

**||.||**

Their first encounter was followed by a second. And a third. And fourth. And countless more.

Whether in the Land of Fire, Wind, or Water, Uchiha and former Hyuuga would cross paths, share meals, and eventually, even a bed.

"Ne, Sasuke," she spoke breathlessly, her hands caressing his hair.

"Hm?" Sasuke murmured, his cheek pressed to her uncovered chest, the fast beat of her heart coaxing him to slumber after their nocturnal ventures.

It was January, two years after their initial meeting in the woods and their first dinner. The bitter cold had forced them to find refuge, and what better place than the abandoned ruins of Uzushiogakure? No one would ever think of visiting the lost village in the middle of the sea, certainly not during winter.

Hinata's warm fingers tucked his hair behind his ears. "Have you ever thought…of returning? To Konoha?"

Sasuke's eyes opened deliberately. "…No." _Have you?_

Hinata's sigh was wistful. "I…don't think I can ever return, either. But…"

All grogginess evaporated. Raising on his elbows, Sasuke observed her keenly.

Her features had lost that lingering baby-fat from two years ago, and her eyes had gained a sharp edge, but her demeanor remained kind, unchanged by times and circumstances.

"But what?" he prompted.

"B-but…" He stared. She was stuttering. She hadn't stuttered since last year, when they'd lost their virginity in the Land of Snow.

"Hinata," he said, serious. "What's on your mind."

She swallowed thickly, her nervousness increasing. "I think…I think we may need a home, Sasuke. Soon."

Silence.

"…A home?" Of the things he'd expected her to say, this was not it. "What are you saying, all of the sudden?"

She bit her lower lip but did her best to explain. "Sa-Sasuke, a home is needed…to raise a-a child…"

He frowned. "What does that have to do with…" He stopped. Then stared.

Gradually, she observed the realization sink in the widening of his eyes.

"…A child," he repeated.

Hinata was afraid to even speak, so she nodded.

"A home."

Slowly, she nodded again.

Sasuke was still. Then he laid his head back on her chest.

"… Since when?"

Hinata released a shuddering sigh. "Two months ago, most likely. At the Land of Waves."

Sasuke closed his eyes, wrapping an arm around her waist. "I see. I wasn't careful that time, was I?"

Hinata shook her head. "The blame is also mine. I was irresponsible."

He scoffed to himself. Of course she would want to take part of the blame. "… Are you scared?"

The woman's hands slid to rest on his back. "Petrified," she admitted in a whisper.

Sasuke chuckled. "Let's hope the kid doesn't get that from you."

"I-I'm being serious."

"So am I," he said. "We'll take care of him, Hinata."

"But what about your mission? Your journey?" she questioned anxiously.

"It'll have to wait."

"… Are you sure."

Sasuke kissed her sternum. "I am. Currently, there's no threat to Konoah. I think…that if we settle somewhere secluded, isolated from danger, a child from our bloodlines would…be safe."

And loved. Because Hinata would be a loving but strict mother, gentle with encouragement but firm, patient, and above all, very kind.

The longer he thought about it, the more real the image became.

"…I'd like that, " Hinata said, pressing a return kiss on his unruly locks. "Then, you would stay?"

He'd lost his home more than once before. The first being at the age of seven. Now, at the age of twenty-three, he didn't think he could let his future be taken away from him so easily.

He couldn't see himself parting away from Hinata in such a way.

"Of course." She was, after all, the home he came back to.

**XXX**

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**I hope you guys review. **

**4.14.2019**


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